1. (S/NF) SUMMARY: Algerian Minister Delegate for DefenseGuenaizia told visiting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense(DASD) Ambassador Vicki Huddleston October 19 that theAlgerian, Mauritanian, Nigerien and Malian chiefs of staffhad agreed to set up a regional command for joint counterterrorism operations at Tamanrasset in southern Algeria. Heindicated the command could eventually be expanded to includeLibya, Burkina Faso and Chad. For its part, Algeria wasdetermined that terrorists not be allowed to set uplogistics, training and supply bases along its frontiers,i.e., in neighboring countries, with the intent of deliveringweapons and explosives to Algeria. Algeria has taken thelead in sensitizing its southern neighbors to the nature ofthe threat and the need for combined action. Huddlestonasked how the U.S. and others could support this effort.Guenaizia replied that intelligence-sharing was fundamental.So was provision of certain technical means, like IEDjammers. A delegation from Northrop Grumman was coming toAlgeria this week to discuss the capabilities of a Boeing 737aircraft with a modified AWACS array. But the U.S. couldperhaps assist most before the impending Bamako summit byhelping secure the requisite top-level political will amongSahel countries that would make the summit a success andfacilitate effective military cooperation. Here, hecontended, the biggest problem was the Malian politicalleadership. The U.S. could help by talking to Mali andothers with influence in Mali to ensure the necessary levelof political will was there. Huddleston said she expectedthe U.S. would indeed be engaging Mali and its neighbors tohelp make the summit a success. Guenaizia welcomed theexpected visit of General Ward of Africa Command in lateNovember. END SUMMARY.

U.S. RECOGNIZES ALGERIA'S LEADING ROLE--------------------------------------

2. (C/NF) Visiting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense(DASD) Ambassador Vicki Huddleston met October 19 withAlgerian Minister Delegate for Defense Abdelmalik Guenaiziaand other senior generals, including Defense Ministry (MND)SG Major General Ahmed Senhadji, MND Director of ExternalRelations and Cooperation General Mekri, MND Director of theDirectorate of Documentation and External Security (DDSE)Major General Lallali and Colonel Mohamed Benmousset, ProjectManager for Major General Senhadji. She told Guenaizia thatthe United States recognized Algeria's leadership in Africa,including Algeria's history of support to Africa'sindependence movements, promotion of economic and socialdevelopment, and on security matters. Huddlestonacknowledged Algeria's own experience in combating terrorismand underscored USG appreciation for Algeria's lead onefforts to secure the Sahel region and prevent terrorism fromtaking root in neighboring countries. She recalled hercooperation with Algeria when she was ambassador in Mali toconfront the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC),forerunner of al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), afterthe GSPC captured European tourists and brought them tonorthern Mali from Algeria in 2003. Algeria's commitment tocombat GSPC in the region was clear, she said, and itsengagement with Mali was impressive. The U.S. played itspart through training to increase Mali's military planningcapacity. In the end, Huddleston concluded, we weresuccessful. GSPC fled Mali to Niger and then to Chad, whereGSPC leader "al-Para" was captured and returned to Algeria.Huddleston noted the regional military chiefs of staffmeeting held in Tamanrasset in July and the planned regionalheads of state summit in Bamako demonstrated that Algeriaunderstood once more the importance of a coordinated regionalresponse to combat terrorism in the Sahel. The U.S.recognized Algeria's commitment to working with the countriesof the region, she stressed, and Algeria's leading role inthat effort. She explained the goal of her visit was tolearn how the U.S. can support Algeria's effort.

3. (C) Guenaizia thanked Huddleston for focusing herdiscussion on counterterrorism. Terrorism, he emphasized,was not a local phenomenon in the region. It was broughtfrom outside with all its horrors, he said, and it is aphenomenon the people of the region reject. When the threat

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first emerged in Algeria, the international communitymisunderstood the scope of the problem and left Algeria aloneto fight in the 1990s. Algeria faced an internationalembargo in its time of need, he said. Despite this embargoand the challenge of protecting an area of 2.3 million squarekilometers and a population of 34 million, he said, Algeriabecame self-reliant and prevailed with the overwhelmingsupport of the Algerian people the security services and thearmy.

MUST MAINTAIN PRESSURE----------------------

4. (C/NF) Guenaizia said today the situation had improvedconsiderably, but terrorism remains a serious threat, andAlgeria will maintain the same level of pressure anddedication to its counterterrorism efforts. He stressed,however, that terrorism was not only a threat to Algeria, itthreatened the entire region and beyond. AQIM, he argued,wants to embed itself in the region and, therefore, Algeriaintended to take the fight beyond Algeria's borders. Like askilled boxer, he said, the key is to keep pressure on youropponent and increase your room for maneuver. Guenaizia madeit clear that Algeria will not tolerate a situation in whichAQIM or other armed groups are able to establish camps forlogistics and training along Algeria's frontier inneighboring countries with the intent of facilitating theentry of trained insurgents, weapons and explosives intoAlgeria.

5. (C/NF) Guenaizia said the situation in northern Malipresented the greatest obstacle to combating terrorism. Thenexus of arms, drug and contraband smuggling in northern Malicreated an enabling environment, Guenaizia argued, andprovided a source of logistical and financial support.Guenaizia added that terrorists will use any means availableto finance their activities, including corruption andhostage-taking. Thus, he underlined, fighting terrorismrequires "implacable" political will to neutralize allavenues of support terrorists can exploit. Guenaiziaasserted that increased drug trafficking represented acritical problem in this regard. Thousands of tons of drugsnow cross through the region, he said. Based on clashes withAlgerian security forces, Guenaizia assessed that thoseinvolved in drug trafficking were well organized and hadmilitary training. Guenaizia said that Morocco was a majorsmuggling route for cannabis and hashish and was not doingenough to interdict traffickers. Huddleston told Guenaiziathe U.S. was equally concerned with drug trafficking innorthwest Africa, particularly Colombian drugs transitingwest Africa and the Sahel en route to Europe. The drug tradeadded another source of finance for terrorists, and itsdestabilizing effect on local populations could expand thegeographic scope of terrorist recruitment efforts, she said,citing the example of the Boko Haram in Nigeria.

6. (C) Guenaizia cautioned that the terrorist network in theSahel is a sophisticated organization. "These are not simplewarlords we are facing," he emphasized. They use the bestexplosives, have honed their bomb-making expertise and usesophisticated means to deploy explosives against theirtargets, Guenaizia underscored. He added that information tobuild highly sophisticated IEDs is easily obtainable from theInternet. No country is safe, he went on; "We need to remainvigilant."

TAMANRASSET REGIONAL COMMAND----------------------------

7. (C/NF) Guenaizia noted that regional chiefs of staff metin the southern Algerian city of Tamanrasset in July tocreate a mechanism to allow militaries in the region tocoordinate efforts against terrorist threats while at thesame time respecting each country's sovereignty. Militaryleaders of Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, he said,agreed to establish a regional command in Tamanrasset thatwill host military representatives from each country andcoordinate joint operations against AQIM targets. Jointmilitary efforts, Guenaizia elaborated, are necessary toprevent AQIM from implanting itself in the region. He calledthis the fundamental challenge. Regional military leaders are

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now sensitized to the problem, he asserted, and are willingto wage a common CT campaign. He indicated that the commandcould eventually be expanded to include Libya, Burkina Fasoand Chad. For its part, Algeria will provide resources tooptimize the command center's capacity. "What we can'tobtain among ourselves," he added, "we will seek from ourfriends."

8. (C/NF) Guenaizia cautioned that, although the regionalcommand in Tamanrasset was an important first step, he didn'texpect immediate results. The meeting in Tamanrasset, henoted, concerned military coordination, but successful actionhinged on two operational aspects: military readiness andpolitical will. Guenaizia said regional military leaders haddone their job, now it was up to the civilian leaders of theregion to demonstrate the political will to act. "We arewaiting for the Bamako summit," Guenaizia stressed.

HOW THE U.S. CAN HELP---------------------

9. (S/NF) As to how the U.S. and others could support theregional effort, Guenaizia emphasized (repeating himselfthree times to make the point) that sharing intelligence wasfundamental. Guenaizia reminded Huddleston that Algeria onceagreed to U.S. surveillance overflights years ago, but theexperience yielded few positive results for Algeria eventhough the intelligence collected related directly toAlgeria's national security and used Algeria's sovereignairspace. Huddleston replied that the U.S. and Algeria werealready sharing a lot of intelligence. There would be awillingness to conduct overflights, but she underlined thatany overflight mission would have to be linked to directaction on the ground. The cost of one mission, sheemphasized, was around USD 50,000, so we had to be sure ofthe result. Huddleston suggested Guenaizia could raise thismatter during AFRICOM Commander General Ward's expected visitin November.

10. (S/NF) The provision of technical means was also key.Guenaizia complained that in many ways Algeria still faced anembargo in regards to the provision of technical equipment,including counter-IED measures and sensors for intelligencegathering. He informed Huddleston that a Northrop Grummandelegation will arrive in Algeria this week to discuss thecapabilities of an AWACS-type platform based on a Boeing 737airframe. Algeria also needed sophisticated IED jammers, hesaid. Insurgents use cell phones to detonate IEDs remotely,he stressed, resulting in huge casualties for Algerianforces. Guenaizia lamented that despite this critical need,Algeria's partners had been slow in responding to Algeria'srequest to purchase jammers. He did not refer directly toU.S. end-use-monitoring rules, but he shared an anecdoteabout Algeria's difficulties purchasing jamming technologyfrom Portugal, a request, he continued, that has been pendingfor more than a year with no response.

11. (S/NF) He said the U.S. and others could perhaps assistmost before the Bamako heads of state summit by helpingsecure the requisite top-level political will among Sahelgovernments needed to make the summit a success andfacilitate effective military action. DDSE Major GeneralLallali said the key to securing commitment for effectivecooperation rested with top-level leaders in Bamako. Lallalisaid Mali's political leadership was the biggest problem."We need a signal from Bamako that shows their commitment,"Lallali stated. Malians are suffering from terrorism, hesaid, yet when local populations try to fight back, theauthorities crack down on those populations.

12. (S/NF) Lallali complained that Malian officials havealerted insurgents that their cell phone calls were beingmonitored and leaked sensitive intelligence. Lallali alsoaccused Mali of facilitating ransom payments for hostages.He called Mali a favorable business environment forterrorists and believed many wealthy and powerful families inMali benefited from illegal trafficking. He termed the Bankof Bamako the "Terrorist Bank" and said, "we need to suppressthat bank," noting the connection between drug traffickingand support for terrorist finance and logistics. Lallalicommented that Algeria's effort in the UN to criminalize

13. (S/NF) Guenaizia agreed that trust was an issue withMali. Although Algeria has provided materiel and trainingsupport to Mali to help resolve the Tuareg issue, it was notinclined to give Mali weapons and communications gear becauseof concerns that such equipment might be trafficked to IvoryCoast or Guinea. Guenaizia said there was a "doublelanguage" in Mali-- its political leadership did not sharethe commitment Mali's military leaders demonstrated. Inorder to succeed in the fight, Guenaizia affirmed, Mali hadto cooperate fully. The Bamako summit has to deliver a clearpolitical commitment. The U.S. could help by talking to Maliand others with influence in Mali to ensure the necessarylevel of political will was there. Huddleston agreed thatcomplicity in Mali regarding the desire to share in thespoils of illegal trafficking seemed to have become worsesince her tenure as ambassador. She concurred that Mali'scooperation was essential but said that engaging Mali was atask for the entire region, not only Algeria. Huddlestoncited the potential role of other partners in the region withinfluence in Mali, like Libya and Burkina Faso. She alsosuggested involving the AU to press for a general statementon fighting terrorism in the Sahel that would not single outMali but rather deliver a broad message that countries in theregion should act in concert and not allow terrorists tooperate with impunity. The U.S., she said, will engage Maliand others in the region to play a constructive role in theregion's fight against terrorism.

BETTER COMMUNICATION--------------------

14. (S/NF) Huddleston told Guenaizia that U.S. militaryassistance in the region aimed to improve the capacity ofmilitaries in Mali, Mauritania and Chad through training andequipment. President Tandja's bid for a third term inoffice, she regretted, probably meant the U.S. will not beable to assist Niger, but we will extend our assistance toBurkina Faso soon. It was important, she stressed, that U.S.efforts were in step with regional efforts already underway.In this regard, Huddleston emphasized that communicationamong regional governments and other partners, like the U.S.,was essential. Huddleston referred to recent talks betweenthe U.S. and European allies on security in the Sahel, duringwhich the European Commission and France mentioned plans forassistance. Guenaizia noted Europe's interest in gettinginvolved and said that some European governments had tried toinsert themselves into the Tamanrasset meeting. He bluntlystated that Africa had already endured a period ofcolonialism. Lallali interjected that European participationcould complicate matters.

15. (S/NF) Huddleston clarified that outside partners did nothave to be involved directly but needed to be apprised offuture steps and planning in order to provide support.Huddleston suggested regular meetings by the MOD with theAmbassador and DATT in Algiers. Guenaizia said he had noobjection, both with the U.S. and others. The threat concernsall. But cooperation had to advance gradually. We shouldreview progress in stages, he added. Immediate efforts, hereiterated, should focus on pressuring Mali and achieving asuccessful summit in Bamako. The next step was to allow timefor standing up the regional command in Tamanrasset anddetermining equipment needs. He suggested in two to threemonths we might be able meet and take stock of that effort.In this regard, Guenaizia welcomed the expected visit ofGeneral Ward of Africa Command in November.